Pacific Rim Law & Policy
Journal
Style
Guide
2004
Additional Resources for Improving
Writing and Citation
The Bluebook
(17th
ed. 2000).
The
William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White, The Elements of
Style (3d ed. 1979).
William Zinsser, On Writing Well
(3d ed. 1985).
Elizabeth Fajans & Mary R. Falk, Scholarly
Writing for Law Students, Seminar Papers, Law Review Notes, and Law Review
Competition Papers (1995).
Heather
Meeker, Stalking the Golden Topic: A
Guide to Locating and Selecting Topics for Legal Research Papers, 3
Eugene
Volokh, Writing a Student Article, J.
Legal Ed. (1998).
This Style Guide was last
revised in July 2004.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction....................................................................................................... 6
Using
this Style Guide................................................................................................... 5
II. General Comment Guidelines................................................................... 6
Formal
Comment Requirements..................................................................................... 5
Approach....................................................................................................................... 6
General
Format.............................................................................................................. 6
III. Abstract................................................................................................................. 7
IV. Body Text................................................................................................................ 7
Paper
Title..................................................................................................................... 7
Paper
Headings............................................................................................................. 8
Text
Formatting............................................................................................................. 9
V. Comment Language......................................................................................... 9
Acronyms...................................................................................................................... 9
Adverbs....................................................................................................................... 10
Gender-Neutral
Language............................................................................................ 10
Pronouns...................................................................................................................... 10
Using
Verbs................................................................................................................. 10
Commonly
Misused Words......................................................................................... 11
Conjunctions................................................................................................................ 12
VI. Punctuation....................................................................................................... 11
Commas....................................................................................................................... 13
Apostrophes................................................................................................................ 14
Using
Colons............................................................................................................... 15
Ellipses....................................................................................................................... 15
Quotation
Marks.......................................................................................................... 16
Placement
of Quotation Marks..................................................................................... 16
Semicolons.................................................................................................................. 17
Capitalization.............................................................................................................. 17
Numerals..................................................................................................................... 18
Using
Dashes............................................................................................................... 19
VII. Footnotes............................................................................................................ 16
Generally..................................................................................................................... 19
Citing
to Cases Generally............................................................................................ 21
Abbreviating
Reporters Generally.............................................................................. 22
Federal
Cases.............................................................................................................. 23
International................................................................................................................. 23
Citing
Statutes.............................................................................................................. 24
Citing
Periodicals........................................................................................................ 25
Cross-Referencing....................................................................................................... 26
Using
Parentheticals in Footnotes................................................................................ 28
Hereinafter.................................................................................................................. 29
Using
Signals............................................................................................................... 30
This Style Guide was created to assist student writers and editors in
preparing Articles and Comments for publication in the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal, with an eye towards
maintaining accuracy and consistency in
both format and style. This Style Guide
focuses on substantive mechanics: what a Comment should contain, how it should
be structured, and what it should actually look like. Ultimately, student writers are responsible
for ensuring that their Comments comply with the rules included in this Style Guide, as well as applicable Bluebook rules. The rules herein
supercede any conflicting rules found within the Bluebook, The
In addition to understanding
the structural and stylistic requirements presented in this Style Guide, it is also important to
understand the Journal’s Comment
writing process. Understanding the
Comment writing process on a macro level is vital in order to ensure writers
stay on schedule, understand what is expected of them along the way, and work
as efficiently as possible. It also
keeps everyone’s stress levels down and, hopefully, results in the best Comment
possible. Be sure to read Life of a Pac Rim Comment to get an idea of what this process
is all about.
Comment Size
While the Journal
does not adhere to strict word counts, student Comments should be about 25 to
30 pages in length, including all
footnotes. It is important that your
Comment be within this range when it goes to your Primary Editor. Be sure to talk to your Primary Editor or one
of the Executive Comments Editors if you have questions or doubts about the
length of your Comment.
Number of Footnotes
Student Comments in the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal generally
should contain at least 200 footnotes.
As a general rule, every proposition or fact in your Comment should be
cited to a relevant authority. This
means that every sentence in your Comment should be footnoted before you get to
your analysis section.
Number of Sources
Student Comments should be
original works presenting new and unique ideas; not restatements or summaries
of existing works. It is therefore
important that Comments synthesize a broad range of different sources. Generally, student-written Comments rely on a
broad range of different sources, including primary sources such as statutes,
translations of statutes, cases, or international treaties. Although there are no strict numerical
requirements, a well-researched Comment will have between 85 to 100 different
sources. If you have questions or doubts about the breadth or depth of your
materials, or about the availability of certain materials, you should consult
one of your editors as soon as possible.
Audience
Student Comments in the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal should
be written for a general audience of law-trained readers. Because many Journal readers practice in other
countries or may otherwise be unfamiliar with various aspects of American law,
any terms of art, technical language, or concepts particular to a specialized
area of law must be adequately explained and defined.
International Voice
Bear in mind that a large
number of Journal readers are not
Americans and may not even practice in the
Example:
Securities
laws in the
NOT:
Our securities laws are far better than
Use Active Voice
Avoid using passive voice, in
which the verb precedes the subject. Sentences usually can be restructured
using subject-verb-object order with active verbs that make writing clearer and
stronger.
Example
1:
The
Court held x.
NOT:
It was held by the Court . . .
Example
2:
The
Law Review will publish that article in the fall book.
NOT:
That article is going to be published in the fall book.
Employ Active Verbs
Writing can often be
strengthened by using active verbs rather than forms of the verbs “to be” and
“to have.” Active verbs often can make adjectives unnecessary and redundant.
Example:
Adam
possessed a strong work ethic and completed his work on time.
NOT:
Adam was a good, hard worker, and his project was finished in a timely way.
Margins
Student Comments should have
left and right margins of 1.25”. Top and
bottom margins should be 1.0”.
Indenting
Indent paragraphs 0.5”.
Page Numbers
Page numbers should consist
of numerals contained in a footer and should be center justified. The first page should not be numbered.
Type Face
We use Times New Roman
Font Size
14 pt
Please use the template supplied by
the Production Editors in order to ensure that your Comment meets these format
requirements.
Format
The word “abstract” is
capitalized and italicized. The colon is
not italicized. The abstract is fully
justified and indented 0.5” from both left and right margins. It should be in 10-point Times New Roman
font. The word “abstract” is further
indented 0.3” from the 0.5” abstract indention, and there is a tab stop after
the colon at 0.8” from the abstract indention. The abstract is fully justified
and should generally not exceed approximately 20 lines or two brief paragraphs.
Substance
The abstract is a brief
summary of your Comment that should get the reader’s attention. It should present the issue of your Comment,
lay out essential background information and present your thesis. Look at previous Comments and reflect back on
all of the journal abstracts you have read in the past when considering how to
structure your abstract.
Example:
Abstract: The abstract of your paper should be a small-scale version of
your paper on the macro level. Use the
abstract in two ways. First, write the
abstract in the beginning to test whether your thesis is compelling and
interesting. Second, go back to the
abstract through-out the writing process, and especially at the end of the
writing process, to test whether the organization and set-up of your paper is
logical and effective.
Paper Title
The title of your Comment
should capture the essence of your paper and give a potential reader an idea of
what the Comment is about. It should be
in 16 point, Times New Roman font, bold, ALL
LARGE CAPS (NOT Small Caps),
center justified, and no more than three or four lines. Keep in mind that each of your headings, text
and thesis should relate back to your title.
Look back at past volumes of the Journal
to get an idea of what a good title might look like. If you can’t think of an appropriate title,
take a step back to reconsider your understanding of the thesis of your
Comment.
Example:
REFORMING
THE JAPANESE COMMERCIAL CODE: A STEP
TOWARDS AN AMERICAN-STYLE EXECUTIVE OFFICER SYSTEM IN
Format
All roman numeral headings
should be in large and small capitals in 14 point Times New Roman font and two
or fewer lines. Sub-headings are not indented and should be italicized and
three or fewer lines. There must be at
least two of every type of heading: a “I” must be followed by a “II”, and an
“A” must be followed by a “B,” etc.
Headings should not end with periods.
Example:
I. Introduction
II. The Amendment is
an Important Early Step in Reforming
A. Legal and Cultural Obstacles Will
Limit the Amendment’s Impact
1. Persistent
Cultural Norms Emphasizing Hierarchy Will Limit the Amendment’s Effectiveness
a.
The
sub-sub-subheading in my comment would be formatted like this
b.
Remember that
every “a” must be followed by a “b”
Substance
Headings should be clear, and
declaratory, giving the reader a clear sense of what information is contained
in that section. A reader skimming a
Comment should be able to get a sense of what it contains by looking at the
headings.
Case Names in Headings
Case names in italicized
headings should not be italicized.
Example:
A.
The
Court Correctly Interpreted Mule v. Horse
Capitalization in Headings
Capitalize the initial word,
the word immediately following a colon, and all other words except articles
(the, a, an, etc.), conjunctions (and, but, while, yet, etc.), and prepositions
of four letters or fewer (at, in, on, over, from, etc.).
Headings Should Advance Argument
In the analysis section,
headings should advance the Comment’s argument and the section’s thesis, and
also should be parallel and consistent.
Example:
B. The Court Relied on Outdated Case Law and Failed to
Reconcile the Comprehensive Plan and Development Regulations
1. The Court's Failure to Clarify Represents a Missed
2. The Growth Management Act Indicates that Comprehensive
Plans Can Be the
Exclusive Basis for Some
Permitting Decisions
Auto-Formatting
Turn
off auto-formatting on Microsoft Word before writing. For example, writers should
not have superscript ordinal numbers.
Example:
9th
Cir.
NOT
9th Cir.
Emphasizing Words in Text
There should be no bolding, underlining, italics or ALL CAPS anywhere in the text
or footnotes (except for the names LEXIS and WESTLAW, which are all caps).
Spacing Between Sentences
Use two spaces between
sentences.
The following grammar and
language rules apply to all writing in the abstract, body and footnote text of
student Comments.
Use of Acronyms
Acronyms should be used
sparingly. Once you have introduced an acronym, use it throughout the Comment
unless for some reason it would be confusing to not use the full name.
Acronym Format
Once the full name has been
given, acronyms may be used. Acronyms
should be abbreviated using capital letters with quotation marks in parentheses on first reference, and all
capital letters with no periods or
quotation marks on subsequent references.
Example:
The
Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) enforces regulations for dump sites. By
enforcing these regulations, the EPA . . .
Adverbs in Argument
Avoid weak and argumentative
adverbs like “clearly” and “obviously.”
Adverb Placement
Make sure adverbs are
properly placed to modify the intended word.
Examples:
Lara
quickly picked up her bluebook and began working.
Lara
picked up her bluebook and quickly began working.
Lara
picked up her bluebook and began working quickly.
General Rule
Other than when referring to
a specific person, always use gender-neutral language. See Scholarly Writing for Law Students for more information.
Plural Nouns
Using plural nouns can help
avoid sexist language.
Example:
Judges
should try to prevent their personal biases from influencing their decisions.
NOT:
A judge should try to prevent his personal bias from influencing his decisions.
NOT:
A secretary should do her best to help her boss.
Eliminating Extraneous Pronouns
Minimizing the use of
unnecessary pronouns or, as a last resort, using both gender-specific pronouns
are also good ways to minimize use of sexist language.
Example
1:
A
judge must set personal biases aside.
Example
2:
A judge should try to prevent his or her personal bias from
influencing his or her decisions.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pronouns and their
antecedents (the words they replace) must agree.
Example:
The
jury rendered its verdict.
NOT:
The jury rendered their verdict.
Subject-Verb Agreement
Subjects and verbs must
agree. Singular subjects need singular verbs and plural subjects need plural
verbs. Pay extra attention when a clause separates the subject and verb.
Example
1:
Evidence
of the defendants’ motives proves that they committed the crime.
Example
2:
Amendments
five and fourteen guarantee due process of law.
Split Infinitives
When using an infinitive verb
form (e.g. to balance, to consider, to run), do not place adverbs or other
words between “to” and the unconjugated verb form.
Example:
The
judge’s role is to balance the issues carefully.
NOT:
The judge’s role is to carefully balance the issues.
Who v. Whom
Use “who” as the subject of a
sentence, clause or phrase. (Generally, if a subject pronoun such as “I,” “we,”
or “she” would sound correct in a similar sentence, then “who” is the
appropriate word.)
Example
1:
The woman who rented the car drove away. (She rented the
car.)
Example
2:
Who
is there? (She is there.)
Use “whom” as the object of a
verb or preposition. If an object pronoun such as “me,” “us,” or “him” would
sound more natural, use “whom.”
Example
1:
The woman to whom I spoke said she would arrive soon. (I
spoke to her.)
Example
2:
Whom
do you wish to see? (I wish to see him.)
Which v. That
Use “which” following a comma
to introduce nonessential and nonrestrictive information. Use “that” with no
accompanying comma to introduce defining and essential information.
Example:
The
lawn mower that is broken is in the garage.
(Indicates which lawn mower.)
The
lawn mower, which is broken, is in the garage.
(Adds a fact about the only mower in question.)